The Toff and the Jokester
by Haunted Veela
Summary: Tori Plunkett-Calthorpe is known as 'Toff'. She can trace her ancestry back to the 5th century, has perfect manners and wouldn't dream of staying in the Leaky Cauldron. Jokester Fred Weasley never has enough cash, wears second hand clothes and can't stop teasing Tori, yet they are drawn to each other. Can two such different people make a friendship (or more) work?
1. Chapter 1

**Victoria 'Toff' Plunkett-Calthorpe is the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat. She wouldn't dream of staying in the Leaky Cauldron, she can trace her family tree back to the beginning of time and the only Muggle in her entire family graduated from Oxford University with the highest pass mark available. Though she is friendly, her aristocratic manners and snobbish accent make her stand out from the Hogwarts crowd – and not in a good way.**

 **Fred Weasley is one of the most well-known students at Hogwarts. Always up for a laugh and a prank, he comes from a humble background; he can only dream of the wealth that Toff possesses. Her mannerisms and reputation as a toff don't put him off, and he is keen to become involved in her life. Can two such different people make a friendship (and possibly more) work?**

 **This character was inspired by the accent of Georgia Toffolo (my fellow Brits may know who that is) but the character is not based on her!**

"Thank you ever so much, Smithers," Tori said to the butler of the Plunkett-Calthorpe family as he set down her trunk, ignoring the sniggers of the students around her. Her posh accent always attracted laughter; it looked as though her Seventh Year would be no different to prior years.

"Not at all, Miss Plunkett-Calthorpe," the elderly butler said with a slight bow.

"Oh Smithers," Tori said with a little laugh. "How many times must I remind you? You may call me Tori, like everyone else does."

This wasn't strictly true. She was known as something entirely different at Hogwarts, but she never let on to her parents or the staff.

"Victoria, darling." Smithers stepped back respectfully as Tori's ultra glamorous mother stepped forward to embrace her daughter. Cassandra Plunkett-Calthorpe, a socialite, was always dressed immaculately with no creases in her clothes and certainly no stains or marks. Tori was careful as she hugged her mother; only she knew how much her coat had cost (the two had concealed the price from her father).

"I'm going to miss you, Mummy." She said this quite quietly; no-one else needed to know that she still called her parents 'Mummy' and 'Daddy.'

"You must make good use of that writing box you inherited from Great-Aunt Josephine," Cassandra reminded her. Tori nodded solemnly.

"Of course, Mummy." There were fewer people around now, so she felt freer to be herself. "Daddy." She allowed herself to be hugged by her father, the only man in England wealthier than Lucius Malfoy. Fenston Plunkett-Calthorpe was a tall, charismatic businessman who chose to work and bring in even more money than they'd already inherited.

"Work hard and make us proud, Tori."

Tori nodded, tears welling up in her eyes.

He would be the last person in a while to use her preferred name of Tori.

~~~(O.O)~~~

"Oi, Toff! Is it true that you have caviar served at every meal?"

Tori resisted the urge to roll her eyes (Cassandra hated that habit) and attempted a smile. She tried not to mind. She was very used to the insults. However, she did mind. Rather a lot actually.

"Not quite, Warrington, but it is one of my favourites," she replied sweetly, turning her back on the Slytherin boys in her year as they roared with laughter. It was always best not to show any signs of despondency, even if the comments were beginning to get to her.

She opened the door to an empty compartment and heaved her luggage in. She owned so much that it was almost criminal. And it made her bag dreadfully heavy. Tori attempted to pick it up and put it above her head on the rack, but she wasn't strong enough.

"That's what happens when you spend a whole summer being waited on hand and foot."

Tori scowled, turning towards the door. There stood Fred Weasley, one eyebrow raised and smirking.

"Come to insult me as well, have you?" Tori said as haughtily as she could.

"Nope, just wanted to locate the source of the very unladylike grunting," Fred remarked casually. She could feel her cheeks reddening.

"Was I really grunting?" Tori asked in a small voice, and he roared with laughter like the Slytherins had.

"I was _joking_ , Toff. Now do you want some help or not?"

"Yes please," Tori said; she was never going to manage it alone. She stepped back as the tall ginger boy entered the compartment, picked up her trunk and with difficulty pushed it onto the rack.

"Bloody hell, Toff, do you have a lifetime supply of caviar and expensive wine in there or something?"

"Enough with the caviar jokes!" Tori snapped, finally having had enough. The grin faded from his face and he held up his hands as if to surrender.

"Whoa, I'm sorry. I'll leave you to it now." He raised his eyebrows again.

"Thanks awfully for your help by the way." Tori could have sworn she saw a smirk in the windows reflection as he sauntered out.

"Not at all, Toff."

Tori sat down with a sigh. It would be the Christmas holidays before she heard the name 'Tori' from anyone's mouth again.

~~~(O.O)~~~

"Shelley, how wonderful to see you again!"

There were more giggles from some of the younger students in the Great Hall, but Tori didn't hear – she had just spotted one of her friends from her house. Shelley Daniels was a warm, studious Ravenclaw and never judged Tori for her aristocratic background. However, she did call her Toff like everyone else did.

"Thanks Toff, you too! Sit down, Emily and Polly will be here soon, they're just trying to find James." Shelly giggled; James was Emily's boyfriend.

"Oh. How delightful," Tori said, sitting down elegantly and tucking her skirt and robes neatly beneath her. "I do hope the food is good tonight, but it does tend to be on the first evening, doesn't it?"

Shelley was one of the only people who didn't snigger at Tori's accent and manner of speaking. "You're right, it does," she agreed, looking out for their other friends. They arrived soon enough, with James in tow.

"Hello Posh Toff," James said with a grin.

"James. It is a pleasure," Tori said, with an icy cold gaze. She particularly disliked James, who was constantly making fun of her and a few other students who he deemed 'funny.'

"Did you hear that, Em? She's more pleased to see me than _you_ were." He nudged Emily and she forced a smile, then glanced at Tori. The two girls had always been 'frenemies', but there was definite dislike in her eyes now. Was it the way she had spoken to James?

Tori was saved from acting further; Dumbledore stood up to announce the feast and by the time she had carefully selected the best food, she had forgotten the other girl's cold look. The feast was followed by Dumbledore being interrupted by the new teacher. Tori frowned, disapproving of the new professor's manners.

After dinner, when Tori was walking out with Shelley and Polly, Fred Weasley ran to catch her up. He was followed by his twin, who was grinning.

"Hey, you know that new teacher who was waffling on just a little too long?" Fred asked the girls, throwing his arms around Shelley and Tori.

"Yes?" Tori said, eyeing him suspiciously. They'd barely ever spoken until today, and now he was intentionally seeking her out, which was somewhat suspicious.

"She reminds me of you a bit, Toff. You know, using all those big fancy words that us lower mortals can't understand?"

Beside him, George laughed and Fred, looking self-satisfied, walked away quickly with his twin.

Tori stared after him. So he was planning to be rude to her all this year?

'Bring it on, Fred,' thought Tori, clenching her fists.

~~~(O.O)~~~

It seemed that it wasn't only Fred who had it in for her this year. Tori was delighted to be back in the common room, with the blue and bronze silks and the midnight blue carpet. She flung herself onto a sofa and stretched out, pretending she was a model.

"Oh, it's so _good_ to be back!" she exclaimed, as Shelley sat in the chair next to her and Polly, looking bemused, sat down with them too. Emily however, folded her arms. Behind her, James hovered slightly awkwardly.

"Oh Toff, _dahling_ , I'm so surprised you said that. I'd have thought that compared to your mansion in London, Hogwarts is positively shabby." And Emily flounced off up to the dormitories, with James shrugging and following her.

"What have I done wrong?" Tori asked, sitting up and looking at her friends, bewildered.

"Nothing, as far as I know," Shelley said with a frown. She looked just as confused as Tori did. Polly however folded her arms.

"No offence or anything Toff, but I think it was the way you spoke to James earlier. Saying 'it's a pleasure' and all that – don't you think it comes across as a bit flirty?"

Tori was quite shocked now. She was used to Emily being a bit of a cow at times, especially if she didn't get her own way, and she was also used to James poking fun at her. But Polly had always stayed neutral, even though she was much closer to Emily than she was to Tori and Shelley.

"Um, excuse me," Tori said, trying to stay calm. "That's how we talk back at home, and I think you'll find that's how everyone talks in polite society, _dahling."_ She added the last part as a bit of a joke, but Polly clearly did not see it that way. She got up, rolling her eyes.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if everyone's right about you Toff. You are pretty stuck up. Maybe one day soon you'll come back down to Earth with a crash." She too went upstairs, leaving Shelley and Tori to think about what had just been said.

"Tori..." Shelley began.

"It's fine," Tori said, whilst blinking away tears. This wasn't how she imagined her first day to be at all. It was bad enough not being able to find her friends on the train in time; once Shelley had tracked her down, she was trapped in a compartment with some over-excited First Year girls. Now Fred, Emily and Polly really seemed to have it in for her this year.

"I'm sure they're just jealous," Shelley said. Tori knew this was true to an extent, but she'd been the 'posh toff' ever since she'd started; Emily had had six years to get over the fact that Tori's dad was a very hard worker and therefore they had a lot of money.

Tori just nodded at this and ran her fingers through her light blonde hair. She didn't really want to go up to the dorm, but unless she chose to sleep on the sofa she didn't have much of a choice.

"Come on," said Shelley, getting up. "Suzy and Charlotte are up there too, you won't even have to talk to the other two."

Tori sighed softly and followed her best friend up to the dorms.

In the spacious, blue-themed dormitory, the four other Ravenclaw girls were unpacking, laughing and having a good time. As soon as Shelley and Tori walked in, that stopped.

"Hello Suzy, Charlotte," Tori said, deciding to ignore the silence. "Had a good holiday?"

"Yes thank you," Charlotte said stiffly. Beside her, Suzy just nodded, not even looking up properly.

"Good," Tori said awkwardly. Judging by Charlotte and Suzy's behaviour, Emily had already been gossiping behind her back. 'Great,' Tori thought. 'Just what I need. Awkwardness with nearly _all_ my roommates."

Tori went over to her trunk, which was next to the bed she had slept in since First Year, and stood with her back to everyone, so they couldn't see just how much stuff she had. She shifted through fur coats (faux fur, of course), furry Russian hats, designer handbags (for Hogsmeade)... Finally, she found her pyjamas.

"Of course she brought all her furs and finery with her," Emily muttered behind her.

"Spying, are we Emily?" Tori said serenely. "Jealousy's a _very_ ugly trait." She looked at Emily steadily in the eye as she said this. Emily was the first to look away, with an angry expression on her face. A few minutes later, she beckoned to Polly and they went out to go into the shared bathroom.

"I don't know what Emily's been telling you two," Tori said, addressing Charlotte and Suzy, "but whatever it is, it's not true. If it's about James then surely you two must remember that I despise him?"

Suzy shrugged. From across the room, Shelley mouthed, 'Just leave it.'

Nodding at her friend, Tori sighed and accepted defeat. Hopefully the first day of lessons would go much more smoothly.

~~~(O.O)~~~

The next day at breakfast, Tori kept her head down and ignored everyone but Shelley. She helped herself to kippers, much to the amusement of Emily, Polly and James. Tori didn't rise to the bait though. She just chattered away to Shelley until Professor Flitwick came round to hand out the timetables.

"Thank you, Professor Flitwick," Tori said with a smile when she received her timetable. It was almost a full timetable, much like last year's was. It was Tori's dearest ambition to become a Curse-Breaker, as she was rather adventurous and loved the idea of going out to Egypt or somewhere else in the sun to break curses. Therefore for her NEWTs she was taking Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. While Tori was by no means the top student in Ravenclaw, she did have quite an impressive academic record that would help her achieve her ambitions.

She looked at her timetable for Monday and saw she had Charms first. When she looked at Shelley's, she saw that she had Divination, and felt disappointed. Now Tori had no-one to sit with in Charms, since Emily and Polly were not talking to her.

Getting up and saying goodbye to Shelley, Tori walked out of the huge doors of the Great Hall. For the first time at Hogwarts, she had no friends in her class. Still clutching her timetable, she ran up the stairs to get ahead of Emily, Polly and James.

"Running away from us?"

Fred Weasley, with his long legs, had managed to catch up with her. George popped up too on her other side. He grabbed the parchment with her timetable on and peered at it.

"Excellent, Charms. That's what Fred and I have now too."

"This is your lucky day, Toff," Fred said, throwing an arm around her. "There are many ladies that would love to be in your position right now," he added jokingly. Tori tried to edge away without being rude, but George was too close to her on the other side so she gave up.

Fred only let go of her once they reached the Charms classroom but that was not the end of the Tori-twins interaction. Everyone scrambled to get seats – everyone apart from Toff, who tried to stand confidently as she looked around for an empty seat. And she saw it – surprise, surprise, next to Fred.

"I saved it for you," Fred beamed. Tori tried to smile, but it was extremely forced now as she wedged herself in and sat as far away as possible from him. His timetable lay on the table and she scanned it quickly. Her heart sank as she saw that he took Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts too.

It was going to be one long year.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the first lesson of the year, and already the Weasley twins were messing around. Tori gritted her teeth as they were told off twice by Flitwick before they'd even begun the practical work. They were practicing non-verbal skills, which seemed easy enough, but Flitwick warned them that without practice, the skill would not stay honed for long.

"I bet we can do this no problem George," Fred said beside them after they were set the task of performing non-verbal Summoning Charms. Everyone had set out various items such as books on the desks opposite theirs ready to summon.

"I like your enthusiasm Fred."

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Together, the twins both successfully summoned their rubber chickens and waved them around proudly. Tori sneered over the childishness; the chickens had been wands but somehow were turned into the chickens after the twins had a 'duel.'

Fred saw her staring at them. "Want one, Toff? Usually they're a Galleon, but for you, it'll be 12 sickles."

"Even when practicing non-verbal spells, you two are still constantly talking," Tori said witheringly.

"And just when I thought you were beginning to lighten up," said Fred in mock surprise.

Tori scoffed, then summoned her book back. She was surprised that she could still perform non-verbal spells and it almost hit her in the face before she could catch it. Across from her, Emily and Polly sniggered.

"So Toff," Fred said loudly for the benefit of the whole class, ignoring Flitwick's glare. The classroom was almost entirely silent as they were doing non-verbal spells, so he had a good audience. "Is it true that you have a pet peacock?"

"It was a gift for Daddy from India," Tori said defensively, then she clapped her hands over her mouth as she realised what she just said. Emily laughed aloud.

"Ha! 'Daddy'," Emily said in a loud, carrying whisper. Polly nudged her and they giggled together.

"And is it true," Fred pressed on, ever louder, "that you can trace your family back to royalty to the 6th century?"

"The 5th, actually," Tori corrected him. Fenston would be appalled if she didn't correct him; he was very proud of his ancestry. Fred laughed.

"Oh Toff, you are adorable sometimes."

Emily and Polly were still laughing. Tori suddenly saw red. Beside her, Fred was beaming and looking very pleased with herself. It was too much to handle.

"Oh, do _shut up_ , you ridiculous bastard." She surprised even herself. There were a few gasps, then more smirks because even when Tori was angry, she sounded like a snob.

"Weasley, Plunkett-Calthorpe!" Flitwick had evidently had enough. He got down off his stool, and for a moment they couldn't see him, until he appeared in front of them.

"If I hear one more word from either of you, it'll be detention! I'm surprised at you, Plunkett-Calthorpe, you're usually a model student!"

Tori's face flushed with shame. Beside her, Fred didn't look remotely bothered by this; he was too used to being in trouble to care about a threat of detention.

For the rest of the lesson, on the verge of tears, Tori didn't say a word until she thanked Flitwick on her way out, as she always did. Then she bolted, straight to Arithmancy where Fred, George, Emily and Polly couldn't follow.

Shelley was there luckily, but there was little talking in Arithmancy; Professor Vector was even stricter than Professor McGonagall. Anyway, there was so much to learn in the class that gossip was as frowned upon by the students as it was by their teacher.

Tori however couldn't wait to leave. On their way to the Courtyard, where they liked to sit at break, she filled Shelley in on the disastrous Charms lesson.

"You poor thing!" Shelley said sympathetically. "Gosh, Emily is being nasty... I should have a word with her-"

"No, don't," Tori said quickly. "I'm sure I can sort it out. She'll come round, eventually." She had no confidence in what she was saying, but she smiled to reassure her best friend.

"Right," Shelley said, not sounding totally convinced. "And those boys are idiots. I mean, they're quite funny sometimes, but they're so annoying in lessons. Remember we sat with them in Herbology in our third year and I almost severed my finger off with the Severing Charm? That was Fred's fault, because he and George were fighting over something."

"He's going to drive me bananas in Charms this year," Tori said dramatically, sitting down on an empty bench in the Courtyard. Shelley sat down next to her.

"What lesson do you have next?"

Tori looked at her timetable. "Defence Against the Dark Arts. I must say, that new teacher seems rather rude."

Shelley smiled; Tori was obsessed with good manners. "I agree to be honest. I mean who interrupts Dumbledore?"

"I get the impression that she won't be the most mesmerising or inspiring teacher we've ever had," Tori said gloomily.

Sadly, Tori turned out to be right. She and Shelley turned up to the classroom, where the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors were waiting. Fred and George were showing off one of their new 'products' but she turned her back to them and made sure she wasn't sat next to them in class. Shelley sat to her right next to the wall and Angelina Johnson sat to her left. Tori sighed in relief.

Professor Umbridge came out of her office precisely on time with a smile. It looked slightly sinister to Tori, and judging by everyone else's faces, they were thinking the exact same thing.

"Good morning everyone."

Everyone just glanced at her, apart from Tori, who smiled brightly. She was brought up with good manners, even if no-one else was.

"Good morning, Professor."

Now everyone groaned, except Shelley. Professor Umbridge looked delighted however.

"What is your name, dear?" she asked, moving closer to her desk.

"Victoria Plunkett-Calthorpe, but please call me Tori or by my surname."

"Well thank you, Miss Plunkett- what was it again, dear?"

"Plunkett-Calthorpe," Tori said, wishing the attention was away from her surname. Even she had to admit that it was somewhat pretentious.

"Miss Plunkett-Calthorpe. Well, my dear, you seem to be the only one in the room with any manners. Shall we try that again? Good morning everyone."

"Good morning Professor Umbridge," everyone chanted, as if they were at primary school again.

"Oh this won't do. What is your name dear?" Umbridge said to the person behind Tori.

"Fred Weasley," came a voice that Tori dreaded to hear.

"And what makes you any different from anyone else in this class? I thought I made it clear that when I wish everyone a good morning, I would like everyone to reply with a 'good morning' to me too."

Fred sighed loudly. "Good morning, Professor Umbridge," he said slowly and loudly.

"Thank you, Mr Weasley." She smiled, showing sharp, pointy teeth. Then she returned to the front and proceeded to give them a highly uninspiring and dull lecture on performing well in their NEWT exams. Fred kept yawning loudly behind her, which was most off-putting.

"Now then, class, I would like everyone to put their wands away and open up their Defensive Magical Theory books and start reading chapter one. There will be no need to talk."

Tori opened up her book and began reading. One line in, there was a tapping on her shoulder. She turned around and looked into Fred's round brown eyes.

"I left my book upstairs, can I read yours with you?" he asked. George was smirking beside him, which made Tori think this was some big joke.

"Ask Professor Umbridge if she has a spare copy," she whispered back, and returned to her book.

"I'm sorry, is there a problem?" Umbridge asked, looking in Tori's direction.

"Frederick has forgotten his book," Tori said sweetly. "I was advising him to ask you if you had a spare."

"This isn't good enough, is it Mr Weasley?" Umbridge said softly. "I can lend you one for today, but if you fail to bring your book to the next lesson, it will be a detention. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor," Fred said in a bored voice. Umbridge gave him a spare copy of the book, then returned to the front.

After a few seconds, when Fred had opened the book, Tori could hear him muttering.

"Merlin's saggy left bullock, this is boring."

Tori turned round to shush him, but for some reason found herself wanting to giggle at the phrase he had used. She bit the inside of her cheeks and tried to concentrate on chapter one. Tori had to admit though that Fred had a point. It was exceedingly dull. She wondered how Mr Slinkhard hadn't died of boredom writing it. Then she checked the author's biography just to make sure he hadn't suffered death by boredom.

"Are you alright, dear?" There was Umbridge again. Tori smiled pleasantly.

"Sorry Professor, just doing some background reading. I do like to get to know the author, especially since this looks to be a promising book." A complete lie, of course, but Tori liked to be in the good books of her teachers. It worked; Umbridge was smiling.

"Whilst I'm glad of your enthusiasm, Miss Plunkett-Calthorpe, I'd rather you read the chapters in the lessons and did your outside reading out of the lesson, but your attitude is commendable."

"Thank you Professor." A few seconds after Umbridge had gone, she felt a sharp poke in her back.

"Swot," Fred's voice said, but it wasn't entirely malicious. He sounded like he was grinning slightly. Tori ignored him and kept reading, though it pained her to do so.

At the end of the lesson, Tori called out a cheery, "Thank you, Professor!" to Umbridge, who smiled indulgently. It was a habit of hers, but the second she left the classroom, Lee Jordan came bounding up to her.

"So, you're sucking up to the new teacher, then?" Lee asked her almost accusingly.

"No, I was simply exchanging pleasantries," Tori said, noting the confusion on Lee's face.

"What is she on about?" Lee asked in a low voice to Angelina and Alicia. They shrugged.

"Toff always does that at the end of lessons, Lee." It was Fred, who was currently eating a Chocolate Frog which he had just pulled out of his bag.

"If you insist," said Lee, still looking uncertain.

"I have a feeling it'll be a good idea to keep in Umbridge's good books anyway," Angelina said darkly. "Did you guys hear what Hermione was saying the other day about her start-of-term speech? She thinks the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts."

"That's what it sounded like to me, too," Shelley said. "Not that it made for easy listening, that speech, it was as boring as listening to Professor Binns."

"Fred, you need to stop winding her up, at least until you get to know her a bit better. She looks like she could be really strict," Alicia said from beside Angelina.

"Oh Alicia, since when has a strict teacher ever stopped us?" Fred said, gesturing to himself and George. "Have you forgotten our dear Head of House?"

"She's different, Fred." Angelina was uncharacteristically grim. "I think we all need to watch our backs," she added.

~~~(O.O)~~~

Tori thought back to the conversation later that day at dinner. For a moment, she felt like everyone else, like part of a group. She was also curious about what Fred said, when he told Lee that she always thanked the teacher. Tori was surprised that he paid enough attention to her to say that, though she supposed she stood out when doing it as no-one else bothered to.

"You alright, Toff?"

Shelley was looking at her from across the table. Tori realised with a start that she'd been sat staring into space for at least five minutes.

"Yes. Fine, thank you." She thought for a second. "Shelley?"

"Yes?"

"Not to sound rude, but I'd rather you didn't call me Toff. I've never liked that nickname much. I know it's been a long time – six years to be exact – but yeah," Tori finished lamely. "Do you even remember my real name?" she said with a laugh.

"Of course, Tori. I'm sorry it bothers you, I know it isn't the nicest name but I always thought you didn't mind it."

Tori sighed. "To most, it won't matter, but I knew you'd care."

Shelley still looked a bit concerned so Tori knew she must have looked slightly upset. She began eating some more food even though it was starting to go cold, just to avoid speaking.

James leaned over at that moment, past Emily who looked very displeased. "No way Toff! I had no idea your name was actually Tori! It's been a long six years, huh?"

Tori nodded, afraid of saying anything to him in case it aggravated Emily further. James wasn't going to let this go, however.

"Oh, ignoring me now, are you? Too good to talk to James McClarence?" He said this with a slight smirk, but it wasn't unfriendly.

"James, just leave her!" Emily hissed, tossing her long thin brown hair behind her. She glared at Tori.

"Alright, calm down Em. You're not my mum." There was an edge to James' voice. Had Tori started another argument by not saying anything?

"Whatever," Emily huffed. She ate her pudding in a stony silence and didn't bother waiting for him at the end of dinner.

"Whoops, what have I done now?" James joked, hanging back to walk with Shelley and Tori. "Do you really hate the nickname Toff? What do you want me to call you instead?"

"Tori," she said, and then she caught sight of Polly staring at her. Rather than risking the wrath of Emily's anger if Polly told her Tori was talking to her boyfriend, she faked a yawn. "Sorry James. I am rather tired, and I have a lot of work to be doing. Goodnight. Goodnight, Shelley." And she walked on ahead with her head bowed, unaware of not one but two boys staring after her.


	3. Chapter 3

Polly had obviously snitched on Tori anyway, despite the conversation between her and James being as dull as a conversation can get. To Emily, the two of them even looking at each other was a heinous crime, and she was determined to punish Tori for it, even though it takes two people to interact.

On the second day, Emily ruined Tori's morning by making fun of her 'rabbit teeth.' It was true that Tori's front teeth were slightly longer than the average person's, but from the way Emily carried on it was like they reached her chin. Tori reacted in a dignified way, and Shelley was quick to tell her to cut it out.

"I'm sorry Shelley, but that girl need cutting down to size. I'm tired of her flirting with my boyfriend-"

"I absolutely do not flirt with him!" Tori interrupted, forgetting her manners for a second. "You know that I find him immensely irritating!" For a second, she felt bad, as he was making an effort to be nice the previous evening. However, admitting this would be practically suicidal.

"It's true, I was there," Shelley added. "She walked away from him, not the other way round."

"That's not what Polly said."

"Well, Polly's stirring shit!" Shelley snapped. She was a sweet and warm girl until it came to defending her friends, then she was downright fierce. And Tori put up with a lot of teasing, but this was on a different level.

Emily's face suddenly crumpled, and Tori knew the waterworks were about to be turned on; this was so typical of Emily if she was losing an argument.

"I'm so tired of this," Emily sobbed, and Polly rushed to comfort her, glaring at the other two. "Shelley, I knew you'd side with her!" She rushed out, and Polly followed without a second glance.

"I genuinely don't know what I've done," Tori said, and she burst into tears too. Without waiting for Shelley, she ran out too.

Luckily there were few students around so Tori could walk to breakfast in relative peace. She was blinded by her tears so she could hardly see anything anyway. Consequently she almost ran into a tall ginger boy, who reached out his hands and gently stopped her before she could walk into him.

"Whoa, Toff, are you okay?" This was the most concerned that Fred Weasley had ever sounded. George was at his side, peering curiously at her.

"I'm fine," Tori sobbed. "I'm just _swell_ , as you can see." She gestured madly at her tear-soaked face, and the twins looked bewildered; no-one had ever heard Tori use such informal language before.

"Is this something to do with Emily?" Fred straightened up and folded his arms. "We just saw her crying, didn't we George?"

"We did, Fred. Although it did seem a bit fake. She didn't look very sad, whereas you, our posh friend, are looking very melancholy."

"It's nothing really. Guys." She added the last word to try and sound like everyone else, though it didn't sound very natural with her accent. Tori tried to smile. "Thanks for asking though. I must dash now."

And she walked away briskly leaving Fred frowning, for he knew something was wrong.

~~~(O.O)~~~

However, the teasing was nothing compared to what Tori was going to experience the following breakfast. Emily had been unusually quiet that morning, making no comments at all. She'd simply got herself dressed then left silently for breakfast with Polly.

Breakfast started smoothly enough. Tori did her usual routine of arranging her breakfast precisely on her plate, but this was a pointless practice today. She also did the usual thing of ignoring her dorm mates and concentrating on eating.

As usual, the owls began flying in. At once, Tori's palms began to go sweaty. She had a huge, irrational phobia of owls, which was pretty bad considering how many she was exposed to in a week. Keeping her head down, she didn't notice the first owl landing in front of her with a soft hoot.

"Tori," Shelley said, nudging her. "I think that's for you."

Tori looked up, and her pupils dilated in fear. "Shelley?" she said timidly. "Do you mind... g-getting that for me?"

Shelley looked up. "Oh yes. I forgot you have a phobia of owls." She struggled to keep a straight face as she untied the letter and put it beside Tori's plate. The owl flew away and Tori sighed with relief.

But that wasn't the only owl she was faced with. A few seconds later, two owls landed in front of her, fighting to get to her first. Tori was frozen with fear now, especially as several more were also swooping down towards her. One was trampling in her breakfast and another was nipping at her clothes. By now, many people on the Ravenclaw table and several on the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables were staring, as there were ten owls desperately trying to deliver their letters to Tori but failing.

As another landed in her hair, Tori did the only thing she could think of and screamed. The piercing sound scared the owls and they left, leaving letters and owl droppings everywhere. Slightly up from where Tori and Shelley sat, Emily and Polly were almost crying with laughter.

Suddenly, two hands were pulling her up away from the feathery mess on the table. Through her tears, she could see Shelley, and also Angelina Johnson from Gryffindor; they were both pulling feathers out of her hair and off her uniform.

"What in the hell was that?" Angelina muttered.

"Tori has quite a big fear of owls," Shelley informed her, now trying to clear the breakfast table. "I think someone has done this as a nasty prank," she added.

At once, Angelina turned to glare at the Weasley twins, the most well known pranksters, but Tori was convinced that it was her two bunkmates who had done this. After all, they knew about her fear of owls whereas it was unlikely that Fred and George did.

Fred had risen from the table; to her immense surprise he wasn't laughing like many others were doing, but looked quite concerned.

"Fred, was this you?" Angelina folded her arms and glared at Fred. He shook his head, taking in the mess at the table that Shelley had given up on.

"Nope. Our pranks are meant to be funny, they don't take advantage of people's fears." His dark eyes swept across to Polly and Emily, just as Professor McGonagall came storming up to them.

"What on Earth is going on here?" McGonagall demanded. "Who was that screaming?"

"It was me, Professor," Tori said ashamedly, but Fred cut in.

"Tori has a phobia of owls, Professor, and I think a dozen of them trampling all over her probably scared her."

"I see!" McGonagall looked at Tori, but not unkindly. "Are you alright now, Plunkett-Calthorpe?"

"Yes Professor, just a tad shaken and slightly untidy," Tori said, trying to make the situation seem like a joke rather than a very unpleasant prank.

"Very well. So someone sent you twelve owls as a joke to scare you then?" Her eyes were on Fred. "Do I have any reason to believe it was you, Weasley? And your twin over there?"

"Definitely not, Professor," Fred said quickly. "George and I don't want to cause panic attacks, just laughter. Right, George?"

"Right, Fred," said George, who also wasn't laughing. McGonagall peered suspiciously at them.

"When I find out who did this, they will be punished, no doubt about that," McGonagall said. "Plunkett-Calthorpe, Johnson and Daniels, you may leave breakfast early to clean yourselves up. I shall see you three in Transfiguration later. You too, Mr Weasley."

The three girls left to go to the nearest bathroom.

"I reckon that was Polly and Emily," Shelley said angrily, and Tori nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Do you?" Angelina said, surprised. "I always thought those two were really nice."

"Unless you look at Emily's boyfriend, and then they truly have it in for you," Tori said, sighing. "Thanks ever so much Angelina. No-one from my own house except Shelley tried to help."

"It's okay, it's no big deal," said Angelina with a smile. The girls went into the bathroom, removed the last of the feathers and helped Tori remove the droppings from her hair. She shuddered, wishing she could go and wash her hair.

"Gross," Angelina said, discarding everything into the bin. "Come on, let's go to Transfiguration early, see if we can get good seats."

They headed to the first floor and waited outside for the lesson to begin. There were less students in this class due to the difficulty of the subject – many students either didn't get a high enough pass grade or didn't even pass at all. James was among the Ravenclaw students but Tori couldn't see Fred or George.

McGonagall welcomed them in at 9 o'clock on the dot, but stopped them from sitting in their usual places.

"I noticed towards the end of last year that there was a lot of foolishness between some friends, and I've decided to change the seating plan this year." There were a lot of groans at this. "Don't groan at me! I've made up my mind." She consulted her list, putting her specs on to see it better. "At the front, Mr Weasley and Miss Daniels, please."

Shelley sat down at the front, but there was no Fred (or George).

"Late as usual," McGonagall commented. "Behind them, Mr Mayweather and Miss Plunkett-Calthorpe."

With a feeling of dread, Tori moved to sit behind Shelley. Beside her, James slid into his seat, trying to play it cool. It was a good thing that Emily had failed her Transfiguration OWL (and Polly had too, though she told everyone that she found the subject too boring to continue).

Once everyone was seated, Fred lolloped in casually. He glanced around the class, failing to notice McGonagall until she cleared her throat.

"Oh!" Fred said in surprise. Then he gave her what he clearly thought was a winning smile. "Good morning, dear Professor, delightful to see you."

"Less of that, Mr Weasley," McGonagall said sternly, but she looked like she was trying not to smile. Everyone knew that behind the stern exterior she was fond of her students. "Sit next to Daniels please."

Fred looked at Shelley, then at Tori behind her. "Oh, I was hoping that I could sit with Toff."

" _Plunkett-Calthorpe_ is next to Mayweather. I am hoping that the two girls will keep you two under control this year." James and Fred were two of the loudest, most obnoxious and disruptive students in the year. "Now sit down, Weasley. You're holding the class up."

Fred sat down next to Shelley, but turned round to grin at James and Tori.

"Weasley, face the front!"

McGonagall wasted no time at all in telling them that they were entering the most serious academic year of their lives, and that not many were intelligent enough to even go through to Seventh Year. She warned them of the terrible consequences of not working hard, then set them the task of changing the colour of their eyebrows. It was a bit of revision as Tori remembered this from Sixth Year. However, she had failed spectacularly at it last year and was not looking forward to repeating it now.

With a mirror in front of her, Tori looked hard at herself and pictured herself with purple eyebrows. This was quite a ridiculous thought, but she tried to concentrate.

" _Crinus Mute_." Nothing happened. This was to be expected in Transfiguration; as she looked around, everyone was having some difficulty.

Out the corner of her eye, she could see James looking at her. Tori tried to ignore him; it was easier this way.

" _Crinus Mute. Crinus Mute. Crinus_ Mute!" Throwing down her wand in frustration, she looked round to her right and saw James looking at her.

"Yes?" Tori asked frostily. If anything was to put her in a bad mood, it was Transfiguration class. And possibly James Mayweather.

"Nothing," James said lightly. "Are you going to ignore me the whole year?"

"Urm..." Tori didn't know how to answer. Insulting his girlfriend wouldn't work, but replying held too much of a risk. Charlotte was in this class, and she didn't know if she was spying on the two of them; anything was possible.

"I've tried telling Emily to back off," James said, and Tori was amazed. Was this guy actually human after all? "But she insisted it was nothing to do with me and all to do with how you treat her."

Tori sighed. "No matter what I say, she'll still be furious with me. But I truly don't get it, James. We've always had a somewhat strained friendship, I suppose, but this year she's been acting in the most peculiar fashion... what?"

James was smiling and shaking his head. "I'm sorry Toff- I mean Tori!" He looked at her with a sideways glance. "You don't like the name Toff, right?"

"Urm..." Tori was astounded at his seemingly 180 turn in personality. "Not really, but if you begin calling me Tori, Emily might notice. And get annoyed all over again."

"Good point. Maybe I'll just call you Tori in Transfiguration then," James said thoughtfully. At that moment, McGonagall swooped down upon them.

"Are you done talking yet?" she asked furiously. "Plunkett-Calthorpe, I expected you to be a better influence on Mayweather but instead you're distracting him!"

"My apologies, Professor," Tori said. " _Crinus Mute!"_ And to her utter amazement, her eyebrows turned a shocking purple.

"Well done, Plunkett-Calthorpe." McGonagall waited expectantly for James to do the same, but he failed to do anything other than turn his eyelashes bright red.

"Better luck next time," McGonagall said drily, and went to check on Angelina and her partner. Fred turned round once she'd gone, sporting fluorescent green eyebrows. He waggled them at Tori.

"I think bright orange suited me better, don't you agree?" he asked her.

"Oh I don't know, those green eyebrows do look dashing!" Tori said, giggling. This made him smile, and Tori found herself thinking that he wasn't actually too bad looking at all. In fact he was rather nice looking.

"Blimey, you do have a sense of humour, Tori. You look better when you laugh."

It was only after he turned back round after being told off again that Tori noticed he'd called her by her proper name without her even asking or discussing it with him.


	4. Chapter 4

James didn't go running to Emily to tell her about their Transfiguration conversation, and Charlotte didn't mention anything either, making Tori the happiest she'd been since the day before going back to Hogwarts. Suzy even smiled timidly at her during breakfast, which was a nice plus. And Tori was fast becoming Umbridge's favourite student.

The tiny pink woman hated the majority of the class, particularly Fred, George and Lee. She was indifferent to the girls like Angelina and Shelley, but really seemed to like Tori, perhaps for her manners and willingness to do as she was told. Truthfully, Tori couldn't remember doing anything more boring, except perhaps History of Magic lessons, but she wasn't about to say anything. It seemed that Umbridge really was interfering at Hogwarts after all. She'd reportedly put Harry Potter in detention already for losing his temper with her in class.

"When do we get to practice spells, Professor?" Fred asked one lesson. Umbridge looked up at him.

"Please put your hand up next time you wish to speak," Umbridge said coldly. "And I don't see any reason why you need to be practicing defensive spells."

"So we can pass our exams?" George said.

"Your hand isn't up, Weasley!" Umbridge snapped. "As long as you have the knowledge, why shouldn't any of you pass your NEWT examination?"

No-one answered; Tori could almost feel Fred rolling his eyes behind her.

Tori hadn't had any interactions with Fred since their first Transfiguration lesson, and for some reason she found herself missing their conversations, however stupid they tended to be. She was quite pleased that they were getting on better; on the first day she was convinced that it would be a difficult year.

But all of this changed in Charms. Fred seemed to get quite bored in Charms for some reason, despite it being probably the most interesting of his lessons. In this particular lesson, Tori had sneezed. She had quite a delicate, high-pitched sneeze as she considered it rude to sneeze obnoxiously loud like most people did.

"Gosh, Tori, you have the poshest sneeze I've ever heard," Fred said beside her. He imitated her, much to the amusement of their fellow classmates. Tori tried not to get annoyed.

"Thank you, Frederick." She got on with the work they had been set, but Fred was not finished yet.

"I bet even your burps and farts are polite-"

"That's disgusting! Ew!" Tori was repulsed by this; she could feel her face reddening. Under no circumstances did she ever discuss embarrassing bodily functions, except perhaps periods with close female family members and friends.

"Weasley! Plunkett-Calthorpe! Kindly get on with your task, please!" Flitwick squeaked from the front.

"Sorry Professor!" Tori turned to Fred. "Just because I'm not as repulsive and vulgar as you seem to be-"

"Oh yeah? What are you implying, Toff? You think you're better than me, with your mansion and bloody fur coats and all that _oh dahling_ rubbish?" This had gone beyond a joke now, and the class knew it.

"Your analysing skills are dreadful, Fred. I never said I thought I was better than you, just that you're rude and your manners are vulgar-"

"I think she's trying to say that you're common, Fred," Emily called, almost crying with laughter at Tori arguing with Fred – again.

"Well I'd be right if I did say that, wouldn't I?" Tori snapped, and there were stupid noises – "oooooh" – from almost every member of the class. It was times like this when Tori was too much, because many were wondering how she thought she had the right to call someone else common.

"That's it. Plunkett-Calthorpe, Weasley! Detention!" Flitwick said over the noise. Tori was absolutely horrified. She had never _once_ gotten a detention. Ever. "I will not have you two childishly arguing every single lesson!"

"Ha! Bet that's ruined your perfect record," Fred muttered maliciously, elbowing her, and Tori saw red again.

"Crinus Mute!" She aimed her wand at Fred, and immediately his eyebrows turned bright green, as they had done in Transfiguration.

"Nice!" George said, laughing at his twin. With a look of fury on his face, Fred pulled out his wand.

"Out!" Flitwick had rarely looked so cross. "I've had enough. I will be speaking to you, Miss Plunkett-Calthorpe, later. As for you, Weasley, I will be speaking to Professor McGonagall later on."

Looking mutinous, Fred packed up his things and swept out, deliberately bumping into Tori on the way out. Tori packed her own things with shaking hands and, swinging her bag onto her shoulder, left almost straight after Fred.

"She needs to work on her temper," Polly said loudly to Emily as she walked out.

Tori kicked a wall as she walked down the corridor; before today she would never _dream_ of kicking anything. _Stupid_ Fred; this was all his fault! She wished she had never seen him on that first day back, when he helped her with her trunk. If she'd gone straight to where Shelley was sat, maybe she would never have spoken to him; maybe Emily and Polly wouldn't hate her... A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Now, are you really crying over getting kicked out of Charms?"

Fred stood in front of her, arms folded. His anger seemed to have ebbed away. Tori wiped her face furiously. "Leave me alone, Fred."

"I was only trying to make you laugh, you know. I forget how sensitive you are sometimes." He looked like he was trying to refrain from rolling his eyes. "I know you meant all that stuff you said to me though-"

"I was just angry. I don't think you're common; I wouldn't ever describe you like that. I just find your sense of humour slightly crude, that's all. Sorry I'm not like everyone else here."

"But that's why I enjoy your company, Tori. You aren't like the others. You can trace your family back to the 5th century, your father receives peacocks from India and you'd never dream of staying in the Leaky Cauldron."

The boy had an astounding memory. "Do you really like my company?" Tori said pathetically.

"You are way too hard on yourself. Of course I do. I'm one of the most popular students here; I have my pick of friends." Tori chuckled at this, unsure of whether he was joking or not. "And honestly, getting kicked out of class isn't the worst thing in the world. George and I are always getting kicked out of class. In fact, Snape banned us from taking NEWT Potions even if we got full marks."

Tori laughed properly now. "Oh dear, Fred. You aren't missing out on much, I assure you. He gets scarier as the potions get harder."

"I don't doubt that for a minute." He looked at her closely for a second. "Hey, I have a good idea on what we can do until your next lesson."

"How did you know I have a lesson next?"

He tapped his nose. "A good guess. Now let's go, but promise me, no backing out. Agreed?"

"Fred, where are you taking me?" Tori laughed as he took her arm (carefully) and began to walk down the corridor.

It ended up being a very long walk, but on the way, Fred told endless amusing stories. It was mainly of him and George and the pranks they pulled, mostly on Ron, but also on teachers in previous years. Tori remembered some of them, and they had a good reminisce over their earlier school years.

"-First Years are so cocky these days," Fred sighed dramatically, as they drew closer to their destination. "Ah, almost here."

"Fred, this is the Owlery." She couldn't keep the panic out of her voice. Tori tried to pull away from him, but he hung onto her arm.

"I thought I'd try and help you get over your phobia. Especially since I can't figure out how anything gets delivered to you if you don't like owls-"

"I have a messenger pigeon."

Fred's eyes widened for a second, then he roared with laughter. For once Tori could see the funny side and joined in.

"An extra reason to help you face your fears. Come on." He bundled her up the steps in front of him.

"Oh, but Jim is like part of the family," she pouted, but she walked up the steps, feeling the wind blowing through her hair. Outside the Owlery, she stopped. Fred gently nudged her aside, then opened the door and stepped in. Reluctantly, Tori stepped in behind him.

The soft hoots of the owls almost melted Tori's heart, but she saw a huge owl soar through the window and almost bolted. It was only Fred that kept her in there, as he tried to calm her.

"See, they don't attack humans, unless you really annoy them. Sure, they eat mice and other small birds-"

"Fred," Tori said with a shudder. "Not helping."

"Sorry. But look, don't you think they're adorable?" He gestured to a baby owl sat at the top of the rafters, which was chirping happily. It was cute.

"Do you feel ready to hold an owl now?" Fred tried to summon one that was on the larger side, and Tori took a step back.

"I'd rather not, that one's quite big. What about that adorable baby one there?" She looked up at the fluffy grey baby; she could handle one of those ones. Fred called it down and it swooped gently towards him. After landing on his arm and ruffling its feathers importantly, he set it down on Tori's arm.

"Just stroke him gently, Tori. Look, he likes you." This seemed to be true; the little owl was clicking its beak happily and staring at her with its massive eyes.

"I do like the babies," Tori admitted. She reached out to stroke its wing and it let her, hooting gently. A flapping sound behind her startled her, making her jump, but before she could turn and look, the significantly larger owl came to sit on her shoulder. Tori tensed up, but the owl did nothing except sit and click its beak.

"See? They aren't all that bad, and your phobia isn't that bad either. You aren't crying or freaking out like you did the other day-"

"Oh Lord, don't bring that up again." Tori shuddered. "I may never live it down."

"Oh come on, Tor, embarrassing things happen to everyone. Remember when I tripped and fell down the last flight of stairs on the way to Potions in our second year? And I landed right at Snape's feet?"

Tori let out a sudden scream of laughter that caused both owls to take flight. It didn't bother her any more though. "I'm sorry, but that was absolutely hysterical!" she choked out.

Fred smiled, completely unoffended by her laughter. "I won't deny that. George didn't stop laughing for a week."

"Didn't he have to get a Calming Potion from Madam Pomfrey?" Tori mused, remembering that day well.

"Those were the days," Fred said reminiscently. They spent a few seconds in a dreamy silence. Then Tori broke the spell.

"Well, thanks ever so much for this Fred. This'll show them. Emily and Polly, I mean."

"You know, I have no clue why Angelina and Alicia are so surprised about those two showing their true colours. I always thought they seemed bitchy. That's why I've always avoided them."

Tori thought this was very interesting. But then another thought hit her. "You've avoided me for years. Why choose now to engage in conversation with me? Why now?" she asked as they left the Owlery. She was so busy looking where she was treading that she missed Fred turning red.

"No particular reason," Fred said casually. "Just realised that I've never victimised you in all the years we've been here."

"That's not true!" Tori turned on Fred. "You shrank my pyjamas in third year. I have no idea how you got them, but I was positively _raging._ " Tori giggled. It seemed such a big deal at the time, but looking back on it made it seem quite amusing. Besides, she had five other pairs.

"I could repeat that prank specially for Emily," Fred offered. "I almost never pull the same prank twice; but in your case, I'll make an exception _m'lady_."

Tori giggled. "Oh Frederick, you're such a gentleman. What a chivalrous offer, shrinking my roommates pyjamas."

Suddenly, an urgent thought struck her. "What's the time?"

"Dunno, don't wear a watch," Fred said, unconcerned.

"Typical," Tori muttered. She glanced at her own (1000 Galleon) watch; she was late to Potions by almost fifteen minutes.

"Oh Merlin! Snape's going to be furious!" Tori's heart pounded. Seventh year Potions students were treated no better than the younger ones. If anything, he was stricter on them.

"Emily's going to love this," Tori groaned. It was a small miracle that Emily, with her lax attitude to schoolwork, had passed her OWL in Potions, but she had and now she had to face her _and_ an angry Snape.

"Do you want me to come along and spin a fake tale? Or would you like to try our first batch of products from the Skiving Snackboxes George and I-"

"No! Sorry Fred, but I really must dash!" She ran off, leaving Fred staring after her incredulously.

"It's just Potions!" he called after her.

It was a pity that the Dungeons weren't closer, Tori thought to herself as she sprinted down the stairs, almost doing a Fred-style trip all the way to the bottom. Eventually she reached the door and flung it open.

"Plunkett-Calthorpe." Snape always sneered her name, like he thought it was ridiculous. "You're late."

"I'm sorry Professor Snape, I-"

"You know that this potion requires the exact hour and a half of lesson time to brew, don't you?" Snape interrupted in a bored voice. Tori didn't reply, her face heating up. She couldn't even look at the teacher.

"Sit down. You will be in detention sometime this week until you complete the potion. For now, you can relabel some of the jars of ingredients over here. No, don't sit next to Daniels. You can sit here." He smirked as he pointed to a chair in the corner. There was a loud snort of laughter.

"That will do, Hyde." Snape addressed Emily harshly, and she stopped at once, bending her head over her cauldron.

'I hope it explodes in your face,' Tori thought viciously. She put her bag down below the desk and waited for Snape to bring over the jars. He thumped them down in front of her and wordlessly handed her a quill and ink.

It was a long, tedious job. Tori never found Potions particularly exciting, but this was even duller, not to mention often disgusting. It turned her stomach to see some of these ingredients up close. At last, when the bell went, Tori packed up as quickly as possible and left the room, without even waiting for Shelley. _Another_ detention? What was happening to her perfect record? Tori wanted to cry.

On her way to the Great Hall, there was a huge crowd of students. Tori was so despondent that she didn't see who was on either side of her. All she knew was that one minute she was walking, and the next she was falling. She put her hands out to prevent the damage, but she scraped her knees badly and her palms too.

"Ha!"

Terrence Higgs couldn't resist laughing. Nor could many others, for that matter. Getting up slowly and examining her hands and knees, Tori glanced back to see who'd done this to her.

Two amused brown eyes stared at her. They belonged, of course, to Fred Weasley. And he was laughing too.

Tori got up and fled.


End file.
